Steam-engine



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.) I

J. TFOASE. STEAM ENGINE.

No. 412,465. Patented Oct. 8; 1889.

//1 Var/far M'Messaa N. Pmzns, mmum n m. Waihingfon. n. c.

(No Model.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. T. CASE.

STEAM ENGINE.

Patented O0t.,8, 1889.

u. mans Fbom-lf mg lphlr. wumn hc (No Model.)

3 SheetsSheet 3.

J. T. CASE.

STEAM ENGINE.

PatentedOct. 8, 1889 j M /H2555 v limm n mus M mm ,Walhhg'm. no.

the same being on a larger scale than thepre- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOEL T. CASE, OF BRISTOL, ASSIGNOR TO THE J. T. CASE ENGINE COMPANY,

- OF NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT. I

STEAM-ENGINE."

SPECIFICATION forming part of. LettersPatent No. 412,465, dated October 8, 1889. A Application filed February 14, 1888- Serial No. 263,973. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOEL T. CASE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bristol, in

-the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steam-Engines, of which the following is a specification.

. steam-ports which act as valves, and also to provide an automatic cut-off to regulate the admission of steam to the valves proper of the engine. g

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of my engine, the shaft and sleeve of the governor being shown in. section on the line 1] y of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a vertical section, partly in elevation, on the line w ac of Fig. 1. 'Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the hollow axle of my engine. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of said axle on line 212 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a vertical section of said axle and piston on line w w of Fig. 2,

ceding figures. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the governor, the shaft and a portion of the governor being shown, in section on the line 1] y of Fig. 2. Figs. 7 and 8 are diagrams showing the relative positions of the cut-off and the valves proper. Fig. 9 is a vertical section, partly in elevation, of another style of engine to which my improvements are applicable; and Fig. 10 is a vertical section of my engine on the plane of the line 10 w of Fig. 2.

Themain portion of the engine herein described is the same as that patented to me November 29, 1887, No. 373,880, and therefore need not be described in detail.

A designates the case; B, the reciprocating and oscillating cylinder; 0, the piston; D, the hollow axle; a,,the connecting-rod connected by crank b to the main shaft E. 'The piston or rocking block is provided with the radial ports 0, and the hollow axle with radial ports (1, which by the oscillating motion of the piston on said hollow shaft act as the valves proper of the engine, in the manner fully shown and described in my aforesaid patent. In order to relieve the contacting faces of the two parts bearing these ports from undue pressure, I form between said faces a chamher or chambers e, Figs. 3 and 5, which chambers communicate with the interior of ihe cylinder, on opposite sides of the piston, by means of perforations or passages f, so that the pressure on the ends of the piston may be nearly or quite balanced by the pressure in the balancing-chambers 6 between the contacting faces of the piston and hollow axle. I have shown these chambers in Fig. 5 as formed partly by sinking into the inner face of the piston and partly by sinking into the face of the hollow axle; but said chambers may be formed by sinking into one only of these faces.

In Fig. 9 I have shown another style of engine with a balancing-chamber. (Indicated by broken lines.) This particular form of engine is made the subject of another application, Serial No. 264,463, filed February 18, 1888. In this engine F designates the cylinder, the lower end of which is of a semi-cylindrical form, and is fitted to and rocks within a correspondingly-shaped cylinderseat having radial ports g, which lead from the steam-chambers on each side,-the end of the cylinder being also provided with radial ports it, said ports acting as the valves proper of the engine during the oscillating movement of the cylinder under the influence of the 7 piston G and piston-rod H, which is connected to a crank-shaft. Although this cylinder is represented in section, I have omitted the ordinary sectional lines in order that I may indicate by the circular broken line the balancing-chamber la and by the parallel and radial broken lines the perforations m, which lead from said balancing-chamber to the interior of the cylinder. The balancing-chamher and perforations thus indicated by broken lines are in the rear of the central section of the piston and cylinder; hence the necessity of showing them in broken lines. The effect of this balancing-chamber is the same as that before described, and dilfers from that first described only in the fact that it is formed wholly in one of the contacting surfaces and is between the end of the cylinder and its seat instead of between the interior of the piston and its seat, said seat being the periphery of the hollow axle. In both cases the balancing-chamber is between the contacting faces of the two parts in which the ports that serve as valves are formed, one part being stationary, while the other rocks and operates the valves by the oscillating motion of the cylinder.

Attached to the shaft E is the governor, consisting of a head J, secured to the shaft E and having on its interior two weighted arms -41 n, hinged or pivoted to said head near its periphery and provided with racks 0, having teeth, which engage the pinion or gear wheel 1, formed on the hub or sleeve of the eccentric r. Said eccentric and sleeve are loosely fitted on the shaft E, and are caused to revolve with said shaft only by means of the racks and gear. Each of these weighted arms has attached to it a spring 8, the other end of which spring is secured to the head J by means of the nut t, whereby the tension of the springs may be adjusted as desired. The racks o 0, being straight, are pivoted to the weighted arms and provided witha spring u, (shown most clearly at the lower side of Fig. 6,) to keep said racks into engagement with the gear 12.

by means of links is older than my invention. 7

By the employment of the rack and gear instead of the link-connection the swinging movement of the weighted arms, acting upon the eccentric, gives a much more uniform leverage than is the case with the link-connection.

Upon the eccentric r, I arrange the yoke 2, the upper end of which is pivoted to the slide 3, mounted to move vertically on the rod 4: or other suitable support, to which slide I connect, by means of a rod, the cut-off 5. One end of thehollow axle D is flattened a little upon its upper and lower sides and is projected somewhat beyond the side of the case proper. Surrounding the projecting end of this hollow axle is a steam box or chamber K, supplied by steam through the pipe L, Fig. l. The hollow axle D is also provided with a horizontal middle partition 6, which is of the full width of the hollow axle at the cutofi end, but only half the width of said axle through the middle portion,where the steamports are formed, the axle at this point being divided by another partition at right angles to the diaphragm 6 to separate the live-steam and exhaust ports of said axle, as in my before-mentioned patent. The end of the hol low axle D which enters the steam-chamber K. is bored through transversely to receive the cut-off -5, which cut-01f is cylindrical for a distance about equal to the throw of the eccentric, and the remainder of its length is skeletonized, so as to admit steam and at the A similar governor having the eccentric connected with the weighted arms.

same time to furnish a bearing for the cutoff. As in an ordinary governor, the springs s have a tendency to draw the moving end of the weighted arms toward the shaft, whilethe 7o revolution of the shaft has a tendency to throw said arms outwardly. The governor should be so secu red to the main shaft that when the weighted arms are thrown outwardly to their fullest extent the eccentric will be in such position as to close the cutoff on one side of the diaphragm G, as shown in Fig. 2, at a time when the valve proper leading from that part of the hollow axle is fully open. This position is illustrated by the diagram Fig. 7', in which the middle portion represents a transverse section of the hollow axle through the cut-01f, while the outer portion of said figure represents, on an enlarged scale, the piston and a transverse section of the hollow axle on a line passing through the steam-ports, which serve as the valves proper of the engine. This figure-shows the valve proper to be fully open, while at the same time the cut-- off 5 is in such a position as to cut off all the steam leading to said valve. The expansive power of the steam within the hollow axle can then act until the oscillating movement of the piston closes the valve proper. Fig. 8 is a similar diagram with the valve proper in the same position, but with the cutcit in the reverse position-that is, fully opened, so as to admit the full pressure of the steam to the valve proper. While the eccentric on the governor will always throw the cut-cit a given distance, the time of this throw may be varied according to the variation in speed of the governor, so that the cut-off may be either fully opened or fully closed at a time when the valve proper is fully opened, or it may be at any intermediate position. By this arrangement the steam which supplies the valves proper is automatically regulated by the cut-oii at such times relatively to the opening and closing of the valves proper as to impart to the engine a uniform speed, which may be varied at pleasure by the adjustment of the springs of the regulator.

Inasmuch as the engine shown is adoubleacting one, the cut-cit is necessarily arranged for cutting off at each end but it is evident that if a single-acting engine is employed one end only of the cut-01f would work in precisely the same manner, as herein shown and described.

I claim as my invention-- 1. In an engine having a piston and oscillating cylinder, the herein-described balanced valve, consisting of a movable part which rocks with the oscillating movement of the cylinder and is provided with radial ports, and a stationary part having radial ports, and which serves as the seat or bearing for said rocking part, the confronting walls of said stationary and moving parts being also provided with the balancing-chamber communicating with the interior of said cylinder, substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.

2. In an engine, the combination of the hol- 10w axle having radial ports and the rocking block or piston fitted thereon, having ports acting in connection with the ports of said hollow axle as valves, said axle and piston having between their confronting faces the balancing-chamber, substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.

3; In an engine having a piston and oscillatin g cylinder, the valves consisting of a movable part which rocks with the oscillating movement of the cylinder and is provided with radial ports, and a stationary part havingradial ports, in combination with a cutofi in the steam-passage leading to said ports,

fied.

- JOEL '1. CASE. Witnesses: i

JAMES SHEPARD, JOHN EDWARDS, Jr. 

